In 1950s America, everyone is expected to come out of a cookie-cutter mold. But Harriet Austin prefers the people who don't, like her communist-sympathizer father and her best friend Jackie, a tomboy who bucks the school dress code of skirts and blouses in favor of T-shirts and blue jeans. Harriet comes to realize she's different too when she starts to swoon over Rosemary Clooney instead of Rock Hudson, and before long she's secretly dating the most popular girl in the school. But she soon learns that real love needs a stronger foundation than frilly dresses and a feminine demeanor.
